Shaver head guard



Oct. 12, 1954 A. M. Ross SHAVER HEAD GUARD Filed June 3, 1952 IN V ENTOR.

ALBERT M. ROSS w /1%)? QM ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 12, 1954 SHAVER HEAD GUARD Albert M. Ross, Darien, Conn,assignor to Remington Rand Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application June 3, 1952, Serial No. 291,515

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to electric dry shavers and moreparticularly to guard means for protecting the shaver head or headsagainst damage when the shaver is not in use.

Electric dry shavers as manufactured today are accepted as a moderndevelopment in the art of shaving, and it is well understood that thesuccess and efiiciency of dry shavers depends, to a large degree, uponprotection afforded the delicate cutter heads against damage.

Numerous cutter head structures have heretofore been proposed, and allare more or less vu1- nerable to damage in the event they are accidentlydropped or otherwise forcefully engaged with another object. Thestandard cutter head of modern dry shavers utilizes an extremely thinand delicate shearing plate or outer cutter which is usually providedwith a multiplicity of openings, the lips of which serve to provide acutting edge effect in co-operation with an inner cutter which ismounted beneath the shearing plate and moved by conventionalelectrically driven mechanism.

This need for protecting the cutter head or heads of electric dryshavers has long been recognized, and for this reason most dry shaversmanufactured and sold today are provided with some form of detachableguard, such for example as the guards disclosed in U. S. Patents#2,192,'726 and #2320307. The chief objection to detachable guards usedfor protecting the cutter head or heads of electric dry shavers is thatthey may be misplaced, broken or lost. Another disadvantage is thatguards formed as an attachment to the shaver rather than an integralpart thereof do not permit the streamline appearance so desirable inmodern shavers.

The present invention contemplates the provision of guard means forprotecting the cutter head or heads of electric dry shavers, which isdesigned as a part of the shaver rather than an attachment thereto.

The invention further contemplates the provision of guard means forprotecting the delicate cutter head or heads of electric dry shaverswhich, when in position for shaving, is substantially concealed within apart of the shaver casing; which may be quickly and conveniently shiftedor moved to completely cover or uncover the cutter heads; which cannotbecome lost or separated from the shaver; and guard means that is simpleand economical to manufacture, highly effective and reliable in use, andone which permits desirable streamline design of the shaver when incutter head protecting position.

More specifically, the present invention contemplates the provision of aguard for the protection of dry shaver cutter heads wherein a pair ofshutter-like sections are pivoted to the shaver casing for movementbetween a closed head protecting position and an open or shavingposition.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example only, the principle of the inventionand the best modes, which have been contemplated, of applying thatprinciple.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dry shaver with the cutter head guardshown in closed or head protecting position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side e1evation partly in verticalsection of the head end of the shaver shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of the guard in closedposition together with its operating mechanism.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the shaver partly insection to further illustrate the guard. operating mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the guard in open or shavingposition.

Fig. 6 is a plan view partly in elevation and partly in section alongline 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View similar to Fig. 2 butillustrating a modified form of the invention, and,

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail of one of the pivots for the modified guardshown in Fig. '7.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be observed that a dryshaver having but one cutter head has been chosen to illustrate theinvention, but it is to be clearly understood that the invention may beembodied in shavers having a plurality of cutting heads withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, the shaver illustrated preferably comprises a shavercasing A which is made in two sections it and Ii. Lower casing sectionIt! conveniently forms the usual handle and housing for the cutter headdriving means, which may be in the form of the conventionalmakeand-break contact type of electro-magnetic motor (not shown). Uppercasing section Il may be in the form of a sleeve-like hair pocket,similar to that shown in U. S. Patent #2561241, and detachably connectedin continuous casing forming relation, relative to the lower casingsection I ll.

The cutter or head end of lower casing section is provided with achannel 12 to provide a seat for receiving the removable cutter headassembly 13. In accordance with common practice the cutter head assemblymay be detachably held within channel I2 by a screw [4. The cutter headassembly may comprise the conventional outer open-ended stationarycutter [5 including a skin-contacting wall It provided with slots (Fig.6) or other suitable perforations adapted to receive the hair or beardas the shaver is moved over the surface being shaved. Mounted forreciprocation within outer cutter i5 is an inner open-ended cutter llhaving cutter bars which co-operate with the edges of the slots in wallit to sever hairs projecting through the slots in the usual andWell-known manner.

As previously mentioned, the invention contemplates the provision ofretractable guard means for protecting the cutters l5 and I1 againstdamage, which means is built into the shaver casing and not formed as anattachment separable therefrom. To this end, a pair of arcuate shapedshutter-like members [8 and I9 are provided and arranged for pivotalmovement within upper I casing section II between an open or shavingposition, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and a closed or "cutter headprotecting position," as best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The ends of members I8 and [9 are pivotally mounted upon shoulder studs(Fig. 6) which are threaded into bosses 2| projecting inwardly fromupper casing section II. The means illustrated for manually opening andclosing the shutter-like members l8 and I9 comprises a link 22, rods 23and springs 24. The upper end of link 22 has a slot 25 to receive one ofthe shoulder studs 23, and the lower end is provided with a stud 26which projects outwardly through a slot 21, in upper casing section I l,and carries a manually operable button 28. One end of each rod 23 ispivoted to the link 22 at 29, and the free end slides within a hole inan offset portion 30 of members I8 and I9 as best shown in Figs. 2 and3. The springs 24 encircle the rods 23 and are confined between the linkand underside of ofiset portions 30 as will be seen in Fig. 2.

The construction is such that when link 22 is moved to its loweredposition, or the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the pivoted ends ofrods 23 will be carried below the studs 20 and pressure exerted againstthe underside of offset portions 30, by springs 24, will hold thepivoted guard members [8 and IS in closed or cutter head protectingposit-ion.

Conversely, when link 22 is moved to its upper position by means of thebutton 28, which is the position illustrated in Fig. 5, the pivoted endsof rods 23 will be carried above the studs 20 whereupon the pressureexerted against the underside of offset portions 30, by springs 24 willcause the members I8 and [9 to rotate upon their pivots 20, in oppositedirections, to an open or shaving position. Stating it another way,springs 24 and rods 23 act as a toggle to open and close theshutter-like guards l8 and I9 upon movement of link 22 throughmanipulation of button 28.

It will now be clear that the shaver cutter head or heads I3 may becovered, and thus protected against damage, by merely closing the guardmembers through sliding movement of button 28 in a direction away fromthe head end of the shaver A. To uncover the cutter head or heads l3, toexpose them for shaving, the procedure is reversed by sliding the button28 in a direction toward the cutter head end of the shaver.

A modified construction of the present invention is illustrated in Figs.'7 and 8, wherein a one piece retractable shutter-like guard member 3|replaces the pair of oppositely moving retractable guard members [8 andI9. In this form of the invention the ends 32 of guard 31 are pivotedupon the studs 20 received by bosses 2|, and the heads 33 of said studsare tightened against spring washers 34 (Fig. 8) which frictionally bearagainst the ends 32 of guard 3! to firmly hold it in open or closedposition. It will now be obvious, from an inspection of Fig. 7, that toopen the one-piece cutter head guard 31 it is only necessary to rotateit upon the pivots 29 to the position indicated by dotted lines. Tofacilitate manual rotation of guard 3|, a finger piece 35 may be formedas an integral part of the guard. This finger piece also serves as alimit stop for the guard in both open and losed positions by engagementwith the edge portions 35 of casing section II, as clearly illustratedin Fig. 7.

While there have been described and illustrated specific embodiments ofthe invention, it will be obvious that various changes and modificationsmay be made therein without departing from the field of the inventionwhich should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a dry shaver having a casing and at least one cutter head mountedwith its shaving surface projecting outwardly beyond said casing, thecombination of guard means for protecting said cutter head shavingsurface against damage comprising a pair of arcuate shaped shutter-likeguard members mounted for simultaneous movement between a substantiallyconcealed position within said casing longitudinally of said cutter headand an exposed position to completely cover said cutter head.

2. In a dry shaver having a casing and at least one cutter head mountedwith its shaving surface projecting outwardly beyond said casing, thecombination of guard means for protecting said cutter head shavingsurface against damage comprising a pair of arcuate shaped shutter-likeguards pivotally mounted for simultaneous movement between asubstantially concealed position within said casing longitudinally ofsaid cutter head and a protecting position to cover said cutter headshaving surface.

3. In a dry shaver having a casing and at least one cutter head assemblydetachably mounted on one end of the casing with its shaving surfaceprojecting outwardly beyond the casing, the combination of means forprotecting said cutter head shaving surface against damage when not inuse comprising a pair of shutter-like guards pivotally mounted forsimultaneous movement within said casing; and manually operable means tomove said guards from a substantially concealed position within saidcasing longitudinally of said cutter head to a protecting positioncompletely covering said cutter head.

4. In a dry shaver having a casing and a cutter head mounted with itsshaving surface projecting outwardly through an opening in said casing,the combination of retractable guard means for pro.- tecting said cutterhead shaving surface comprising, a pair of arcuate shaped guards; meanspivotally mounting said guards within said casing; and manual means forrotating said guards in unison upon their pivots between a substantiallyconcealed position within the casing and a protecting position abovesaid cutter head shaving surface.

5. In combination with a dry shaver having a Y casing and a cutter headmounted on the casing with its shaving surface projecting outwardlythrough an opening therein; retractable guard means for said shavingsurface of said cutter head comprising a pair of shutter-like guardseach formed with an arcuate section and parallel end walls; meanspivotally mounting said guards Within the head end of said shavercasing; and manual means for simultaneously rocking said guards upontheir pivots in opposite directions between a substantially concealedposition within said casing and an exposed positionabove said cutterhead shaving surface.

6. In combination with a dry shaver having a separable casing and atleast one cutter head assembly mounted upon the casing with its shavingsurface projecting outwardly beyond said casing, retractable guard meansfor protecting the shaving surface of said cutter head against damagecomprising, a pair of guards pivoted within said shaver casing adjacentsaid cutter head; and manually operable means for rocking said guards inopposite directions upon their pivots including a link mounted forsliding movement on said casing; rods pivotally attached to said linkwith their free ends slidable through apertures in said guards; andsprings encircling said rods to exert pressure against the said guardsto move them between closed and open position in response to movement ofsaid link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,238,886 Jensen Apr. 22, 1941 Wallace June 16, 1942

